Taking a note on compassion from Michael Moore

by andrewcagle

“What is it about us, that we are so cruel to each other”

That was Michael Moore in an interview with Piers Morgan on CNN, tonight. Since he released “Bowling for Columbine” in 2002 he has been asked to do interviews on the issue of gun control, “…and I decline. Tonight, I didn’t” said Moore on Twitter, today.

In the interview, Moore was emotional. In his voice I could hear exasperation and sadness. His face was that of a man perplexed by a tragedy he was seeing unfold, yet again.

He was visibly grappling with his own brokenness over the way sin was being manifested through violence in our society, he just didn’t know that was at the core of what he felt, or the spiritual significance of his observation. That frustration and image of a man wrestling with the question“What is it about us, that we are so cruel to each other” is the same one I have observed in his films.

I think this illustrates what bothers me so much during election season. Somehow, we have lost the ability to allow compassion to transcend opinion on policy or what George Washington would think. I am not advocating a particular stance on any particular political ideology, because I think they’re all rubbish anyway. But I find myself coming back to the idea of taking care of each other, no matter what it looks like politically.

Towards the end of the interview Moore said this, “We have to see that we’re a part of each other, and we have to take care of each other… if one suffers, everybody suffers,” he tells the “Piers Morgan Tonight” host. “That is not our mentality, our mentality is ‘I got mine, you get yours, and the hell with everybody else.'”

Again, Moore doesn’t realize it, but he touches on a pretty major kingdom principle that Jesus talked about, loving your neighbor. I’m not saying that the primary vehicle for achieving this is politics or government, or that I’m trying to turn everyone into a communist. What I am saying, is that as we all dive into politics and debate we need to realize that some things are more important than others. The principles of loving each other and taking care of one another should permeate our lives. Nothing should overtake that, not even winning. I’m almost certain now that Satan invented our election cycle.

So, in our speech and political discourse, I want to encourage everyone to put compassion, empathy, sacrifice, love, and gentleness at the forefront. Say what you want about Michael Moore, liberals, and the leftist conspiracy, but I took a note about what it means to be passionate about loving one another from him tonight. If a man who doesn’t know Jesus can have the level of sorrow over our sinful nature I saw in a television interview, how much more should we who possess the power of the Holy Spirit be driven to remake and heal a broken world that has been unmade through violence, poverty, and greed.

“On earth as it is in heaven.” This is our vision, our goal, and our mission. The littler things are just obstacles. Don’t let them slow you down.